Biographies
Industrious and intelligent application to agricultural
pursuits has brought a gratifying reward to Mr. Noble, who during the period of
his association with ranching and dairying in Sacramento county has not only
developed a well-improved farm, but in addition has had the satisfaction of
realizing that his property has had a steady growth in value, while his annual
returns have exceeded his most sanguine expectations at the time of his
location on the property. Since the year
1898 he has operated two hundred and fifty acres, meanwhile placing the land
under a high state of cultivation, putting up necessary buildings and
maintaining an equipment both modern and
extensive. It has been his good fortune
to have the co-operation of a capable wife, and not a little of his substantial
success may be attributed to her sagacious counsel and energetic assistance,
while in addition he had for some time the aid of their son, William H., who,
however, later turned his attention to railroading and now is employed by the
Southern Pacific Company.
The descendant of colonial Virginian ancestry on the
paternal side and of substantial easterners through the maternal lineage,
George Washington Noble was born on a farm near Oquawka, Henderson county,
Ill., January 19, 1852, being a son of George W. and Julia Ann (Moorhead)
Noble. Their father was born in
The public schools in and near Oqnawka
afforded to George W. Noble fair educational opportunities and enabled him to
acquire a general fund of important information. Starting out for himself at the age of
eighteen years he went to
Attracted to the west by the excitement resulting from the
discovery of gold, William Henry Young crossed the plains during the summer of
1852. Unlike many of the newcomers, he
did not try his luck in the gold mines, but sought agriculture as a permanent
means of livelihood. Settling three
miles from Galt in 1853 he took up one hundred and sixty acres of government
land. The place was in the primeval
condition of nature. No attempt had been
made at improvement. Not a furrow had
been turned in the soil. His was the
difficult task of rendering the land remunerative, but by the greatest
perseverance he was successful in his efforts.
The raising of grain was his principal business, but he also found
cattle and hogs a source of considerable profit. Eventually he acquired eleven hundred acres
of ranch land and attained a position among the most influential ranchers of
the entire county. His death occurred
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of
© 2005 Sally Kaleta.